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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695299">Hold me in this wild, wild world</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/whynotcherries/pseuds/whynotcherries'>whynotcherries</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baelfire | Neal Cassidy &amp; Emma Swan Friendship, F/M, Family, Family Angst, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:00:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>924</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24695299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/whynotcherries/pseuds/whynotcherries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal comes back from the dead and reunites with his family</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Baelfire | Neal Cassidy &amp; Emma Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hold me in this wild, wild world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Emma would’ve never thought that Regina, of all people, would bring Neal back from the dead- much less that she’d do it <i>on her own.</i> </p><p>But, she’s sitting in her kitchen one day with Henry, in their too-big house, and her doorbell rings. She looks to him, a little confused. Before she can ask, he shrugs and picks up his coffee again.</p><p>She stands, walking to the door, just nervous enough that she thinks about looking through the peephole, but decides that it’s too much work for something that doesn’t probably make much of a difference- Storybrooke doesn’t have an issue with solicitors. </p><p>She opens the door and both the people on the other side stop talking abruptly, looking over at her.</p><p>“Hi,” Neal says, looking over at Regina, “she can explain,” he points.</p><p>Emma stands, frozen for a minute, not sure if she can actually believe that this isn’t some disguised bad guy standing at her door- god knows they’ve had their fair share of those lately.</p><p>Once she decides that that’s a stupid idea, at the least, she steps forward and practically falls against him- she’s sure that he’s real when he grips her a little too tight from the start, obviously trying to stop her from falling.</p><p>She squeezes her eyes shut a little harder and squeezes him tighter, “I missed you,” she mumbles- for a second she forgets that Regina is even there, until she clears her throat and both her and Neal let go.</p><p>“I- you guys can come in,” she says, stepping back and pulling the door open wider, “I’m gonna need a story for this one,” she eyes Regina, who sighs and nods, stepping inside, followed shortly by Neal.</p><p>She guesses that Henry hears the door close because from the kitchen he calls, “Who was it?” and Neal smiles just as wide as she thought he would. She nearly forgets to respond, and she’s trying to think of what to say as she hears Henry yell the same thing again, popping out from around the corner.</p><p>Instantly, he tenses, before charging at Neal in a full run, nearly knocking him over when he finally hugs him. </p><p>She’d expected him to get really excited, like a little kid would, but instead she can see tears spilling from his eyes as he holds on to Neal for dear life.</p><p>Regina, without waiting for Henry to calm down a little bit, begins explaining, “I found a spell while I was going through my old books in my vault this morning,” she glances up at Henry, who’s still gripping Neal like he’s never planning on easing up, “I figured a surprise would be better.”</p><p>Emma nods, crossing her arms, “I think so,” she says, making eye contact with Neal, who appears to be just as touched as Henry, but a little less oxygenated, “thank you,” she says, turning back to Regina.</p><p>She nods, “You’re welcome,” she says, nodding and smiling back.</p><p>Emma reaches over and puts her hand on Henry’s shoulder, “You can let go, kid,” she whispers, and Henry picks his head up, easing up on his hold a little bit before letting go all the way.</p><p>He wipes his nose a little bit on the sleeve of his sweatshirt, “Sorry,” he whispers, stepping away.</p><p>Emma smiles, putting her hand on his shoulder, “We have <i>so</i> much to tell you about,” she says, chuckling, and both Regina and Henry nod.</p><p>“I’ll go, have fun,” Regina says, and with a proper goodbye, leaves.</p><p>Neal smiles, “Well, what’s been happening?” he asks, following Emma and Henry to sit at the kitchen table.</p><p>Henry sighs, and before Emma can think of the words, he starts talking, “I feel like I’ve been in a fever dream for the past four years.”</p><p>Both Emma and Neal laugh, “Well, okay, so let’s narrow it down by villain…”</p><hr/><p>By the end of the day, while they’re sitting at dinner with Snow, David, and Regina, Neal’s able to give a detailed description of everything that’s happened from the time he died until then.</p><p>“I <i>never</i> want to hear about you getting stuck in ice caves again, okay?” he asks, laughing as he bumps shoulders with Emma.</p><p>She sighs, “Look, I didn’t <i>plan</i> on it,” she defends, chuckling and looking to her parents for backup (which they do not provide).</p><p>Neal laughs, “No, really? I totally thought those were your Tuesday plans, that makes so much more sense!” he exclaims.</p><p>Emma reaches out and lightly smacks his arm, “You are not one to talk, okay? Mr. ‘I got lost in the Enchanted Forest’.”</p><p>“Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do,” he says, “I don’t think I would’ve ever found you again if I hadn’t,” he says, looking down at the table and waiting for someone else to say something, the conversation having taken a serious turn.</p><p>Her eyes widen as she puts down her glass, “You wouldn’t have <i>died</i> if you hadn’t, but that’s about it, dude.”</p><p>“Well, Hook would’ve never found you,” he says, as if she knows what he means. She squints in confusion and he elaborates, “he mention getting a message to find you?” he asks.</p><p>Snow tilts her head at him, “Wait, that was you?” she asks, and he nods.</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>“Okay, so maybe you wouldn’t have,” Emma agrees, sighing and leaning back in her chair, “you’re <i>still</i> not allowed to die anymore,” she says, smiling over at him.</p><p>“Of course not,” he says, leaning back and taking her hand, “wouldn’t dream of it.”</p>
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